$59 million in state school grants at stake

Chris Field, a freshman at Fairfield Freshman School, tutors Jasmine Burton outside her first-grade classroom at Fairfield Central Elementary on Tuesday. The school, built in 1929, has no room for tutoring sessions except the hallways.(Photo: The Enquirer/Cara Owsley)

The first time Fairfield school parent Heather Kite drove past the aging Fairfield Central Elementary School, she thought it was a historic site.

"It's the oldest building around. I thought it was a museum," said Kite.

But Fairfield's mayor and council members, who recently toured the crumbling 85-year-old school, found nothing historically significant – especially the image of children struggling to learn in a building opened in 1929, when Calvin Coolidge occupied the White House.

It does, however, reinforce the significance of May 6. That's when voters in both the Fairfield and Middletown school districts will decide whether to allow the districts to issue bonds to build new schools and renovate others – and collect millions in state money in the process.

But if voters in each district again reject the local tax hikes as they did in November, neither district will get a single dollar of the $59 million the state has promised. School officials will then be forced to convince residents to approve even larger tax hikes for new or renovated schools.

The oldest – 92-year-old Middletown Middle School – and second-oldest – Central Elementary – schools in the county are in the two districts. Other buildings are antiquated, overcrowded and in some cases potentially unsafe.

"I was surprised. I didn't know it was that bad," said Mayor Steve Miller after climbing out of Central Elementary's dungeon-like basement, where unused school furniture is stored in dark rooms amid puddles of water.

Like most areas of the cramped elementary, the damp basement doubles as something else – in this case, the storm shelter.

"That basement isn't just scary, it's dangerous," said Miller.

If Fairfield voters approve the tax hike, Fairfield would receive $19 million in additional state grant money to help with the building projects.

Fairfield Superintendent Paul Otten stepped into a 500-square-foot classroom and called the May 6 vote critical.

"It's truly an opportunity for our community to really get some of its tax dollars back that we send to Ohio every year. And this is our last opportunity," said Otten, referring to the final election window.

To secure the grant money, districts must pass a levy or bond issue first.

But now, almost all of Southwest Ohio's school systems have passed tax hikes to rebuild or renovate their schools. That means the Ohio School Facilities Commission's pool of grant money, from the 1999 legal settlement with the tobacco industry that brought $5 billion to Ohio, is drying up.

Districts eligible now aren't likely to come up in the state's rotation again.

Repairing old buildings costly and wasteful

Middletown Schools officials have argued for years that it's a waste of taxpayers' money to keep repairing its antiquated middle school and applying Band-Aid fixes instead of renovating its aging high school.

Surprised by voters' rejection of bond issue last fall, officials said it's now or never if the district is going to receive its $40 million in state money.

"There is urgency behind the need in passing this issue," said Sam Ison, superintendent of Middletown Schools.

"If we do not pass (the bond issue) on May 6, then we lose these funds and the state will offer them to another school district. That means that when we do want a building and renovation later on, we will likely have to fund this project entirely on our own," said Ison.

Middletown school parent Heather Flack said she can sense the urgency among fellow parents.

"So many other districts around us have new schools. And this is all about Middletown's future – even if you don't have kids in the schools – because people will think twice about moving here and buying a home if these schools aren't fixed," said Flack.

Michael Scorti, 72-year-old city resident, agreed.

"This vote is huge," he said. "Middletown will never make an economic comeback without updating our school system. It's a no-brainer."

Neither school ballot issue in either city has organized opposition.

Both tax issues lost by close margins in November and overall, school supporters in both cities say they are optimistic.

"There is a lot more interest and awareness this time around and that's encouraging," said Tracy Ruberg, chairwoman of Fairfield's private pro-bond campaign.

"The general population doesn't understand how Ohio school funding works," said Ruberg. "But they do understand that this is our last chance at $19 million."⬛

VOTERS IN FAIRFIELD, MIDDLETOWN DECIDE ON LOCAL, STATE MONEY FOR NEW SCHOOLS

Under state law, districts such as Fairfield and Middletown had a one-year window to receive millions of dollars in state funding for new school construction, expansion and renovation. The 12-month period established by the Ohio School Facilities Commission began last summer and requires local voters in both districts to approve local tax money within that time.

In Fairfield, voters will decide on a 2.1-mill bond issue and a 0.5-mill permanent improvement levy that would raise $61 million to replace Central Elementary and Fairfield Freshman School buildings and build a new elementary school. If approved by voters, the 2.6-mill bond issue/levy would raise the annual school property tax for a $100,000 home by $91 starting in 2015.

The state commission would contribute another $19 million to the $80 million project.

In Middletown, voters will decide on a 4-mill bond issue and a 0.26-mill permanent improvement levy that would raise $55 million to build a new middle school on the Middletown High School campus and renovate the high school building. If approved, the 4.26-mill bond/levy issue would raise annual school property tax on a $100,000 home by $149 beginning in 2015.

The state would provide $40 million to the $95 million project.⬛

Walk along with Fairfield city officials as they tour the crumbling 85-year-old Central Elementary.